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Hagen MP William Duma re-opens the Hagen market in 2020.

HAGEN - MELTING POT OF THE HIGHLANDS

By RITA PEKI in Mount Hagen

THE rugged interior of our beautiful country is made up of a myriad of highlands tribes.

Dissected in various places by the mighty Waghi River, these tribes have existed in the valley of the same name for thousands of years.

Modern day PNG knows these people as Engans, Helas, Jiwakas, Simbus, Eastern Highlanders, Southern highlanders and Western Highlanders.

Each are distinct by their customs, traditions and language. The few ideas they share in common are feasting, pig raising, marriage ceremonies, tribal wars, making gardens and business.

The centre piece of this highland's repertoire is Mount Hagen, the third city in Papua New Guinea.

The melting pot of ideas, business, education, cultures, Mount Hagen has significantly expanded in the last 10 years since Paias Wingti became Governor of Western Highlands.

Located in the  fertile Wahgi valley Mount Hagen rests at an elevation of 1677metres.

Hagen only felt the touch of Western influence after being discovered by Australian gold prospectors in 1933 and has slowly developed into what it is today.

Mount Hagen is a major contributor to the country’s economy through its agricultural production.

The province has a road link that is essential to facilitate the movement of goods and people from other highlands provinces and may seem to be one of the busiest place in the country that has grown overtime with more than 50, 000 people accessing it to conduct their daily businesses.

Despite having a rough and challenging year with the threats of Covid-19 pandemic, notable major infrastructural development have occurred including the new four-lane highway, introduction of traffic lights and upgrading of the Kagamuga Airport.

The project was undertaken by the previous O’Neill led government to change the lives of the people and make Mt Hagen a modern metropolis living up to a city’s standard.

It was also a welcoming sight for the people in the city to see new and amazing traffic lights that were installed during the construction phase, starting from Kagamuga Airport market to the Airport junction which are now operating together with the street lights that are being powered by solar energy.

Motorists using these roads will now be free of traffic congestion and confusion amongst the general public.

Interior of new Kagamuga airport departures.

Meanwhile, the new look K68 million Kagamuga Airport, opened in 2015, is one of the many priority infrastructure areas of the government.

Major maintenance work carried out on its runways and taxiways by the National Airports Corporation (NAC) for 16 months, limited services to Dash-8 aircraft which carries only 20 passengers per flight.

In October, services were resumed because Mt Hagen is the largest transport and economic hub for the Highlands region, and with the resumption of its services, Fokker jet aircraft can carry up to 100 passengers, aiding movement of people and of much needed necessities in terms of health, education and infrastructure materials to drive the government’s agenda on economic growth and to delivergoods and services to the wider communities.

The Air Niugini’s Chief Executive Officer Bruce Alabaster said that Air Niugini will operate up to four flights to Mt Hagen everyday using the Fokker 100 jets, thereby offering the fastest, smoothest and most comfortable flights for its customers.

For business, this is a blessing as it only takes about 50 minutes from Port Moresby to Hagen.

He said Air Niugini has continuously provided services to the province throughout the difficult runway maintenance period despite losing money on the route.

He also thanked the people of Western Highlands and the travelling public for their patience over this difficult time and said Air Niugini is delighted to be able to provide the greater capacity and reliability of services that its customers deserve now that the jet operation have resumed three months ago.

He further said that Air Niugini continues to operate with strict health and safety measures in place including temperature testing of all passengers and providing face masks and hand sanitisers to ensure the safety of its customers.

One of the definite highlights of Mt Hagen is its colorful and vibrant marketplace that serves as a commercial hub and a focal point for farmers, vendors and traders from all over the province, travelling to offer their produces and wares.

The new 4 lane highway.

Due to the pandemic Covid-19, the market was closed for an indefinite time putting pressure on thousands of farmers especially mothers because their produces were not saved and sold for the next day. It was reported that after their sales, their leftovers were either thrown away or taken back home because there was nowhere else to save their foods.

Just timely on the eve of Christmas, the market was finally re-opened and business resumed starting this Monday.

Another innovative idea introduced by the WHP Government was the Green Revolution. Under this concept, communities have been encouraged to provide land free, timber free and labour free to build new high schools.

From just 9 secondary and high schools a decade ago, there are now almost 30 new education institutions. The idea is to reach 50 by 2022 and enable all children to have a high school education.

This year, although challenging, has taught us valuable lessons on keeping ourselves well by following health measures to prevent getting the virus and the new development has also brought in blessings to the people of Western Highlands.

 

The new 4 lane highway.